Lack of tax will reduce coroner’s staff, slow insurance payments

Tuesday

I am writing this letter in strong support of the 0.5 percent criminal justice tax. A 40 percent reduction in our budget will decimate the Stark County coroner’s office and its services.

What this means to you, and how this might affect you if the worst should happen: In our country, approximately 10 percent of all deaths fall under the jurisdiction of the coroner’s office. Those who fall and fracture their hip and later die from complications will be a coroner’s case. Every homicide and suicide is

a coroner’s case, as are all motor vehicle accidents, industrial deaths, SIDS deaths, etc. Regardless of your age, if you do not have a family physician, you will be a coroner’s case because there will be no one else to sign your death certificate.

If you or a loved one should die under the above circumstances, we of the coroner’s office will issue a death certificate. Many of you have life insurance that will be paid upon proof (a death certificate) of your death. Your family will depend on this money to pay for funeral expenses, the mortgage, outstanding bills, etc.

If the coroner’s office is not sufficiently funded, the current 30- to 45-day wait for a death certificate will be extended, likely out to four to six months. This will happen because the coroner’s office is staffed with only seven people, and we receive new cases daily,

The coroner’s office is a vital link in the criminal justice system. If you or a loved one is touched by a heinous action, you will be relying entirely on law enforcement, the prosecutor’s office and the coroner’s office to do the best possible investigation.

P.S. MURTHY, M.D.,

LAKE TOWNSHIP

STARK COUNTY CORONER

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